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Today Newsletter, 10th Edition.
24 Hours of Beer Festival: Sat/Sun Nov. 3/4
(More Details at Festival
Official Web Site)
43 days to First Sip!
NOTE
I haven't published in a couple of weeks due to the
tragic events on September 11th. For a few of my thoughts,
please see my columns for Travel Pete on September
11th and September
19th. I think we all share the strong emotions of
this time and I hope we can find lessons to help us
throughout our lives.
At
the same time, I'm fully planning on attending and am
glad to hear that everyone else will be joining me on
our adventure! It looks like our roster is relatively
complete now and we'll have a total of 7 people for
the Beer Festival weekend and several staying on for
different lengths of time. Please see the Who's
Going page for details.
Today's
edition concerns some "last-minute" practical
matters of discussion.
MONEY
SECTION
There
are two ways to handle money in Europe.
My way and the other way.
Europe
isn't a 3rd world country. So, I don't bring traveler's
cheques any more. Instead, I bring US $160-$200 in $20
denominations. Don't bring $100 bills you can't break
as you'll primarily use this money for:
• Bribes to get better train seats / not get thrown
off by unscrupulous conductors (mostly in Eastern countries
such as Czech Republic, Romania, etc.)
• Times when the credit card network back to your
bank in the U.S. is momentarily down and you're hungry.
• Personal assurance backup. If all else fails,
you'll have enough cash to get a room and make calls
to the U.S. for help.
So,
if I don't use traveler's cheques, what do I do? I bring
a minimum of 1 credit card and 1 checking debit card
that's either Visa or Mastercard. I prefer to bring
both MC and Visa (and/or AMEX) when possible, since
the networks and acceptance differ slightly in Europe
(some restaurants only accept Mastercard, for example).
Further,
you get the best exchange rates using your checking
Visa/MC debit card. Credit cards are okay, but you start
getting charged interest immediately on cash withdrawals
from ATM machines. Remember to have your PIN numbers
for ALL cards handy, and ensure they are 4 numbers or
less in length, as many Euro-ATM machines don't take
longer PIN numbers.
However,
if you are trying to budget and don't want to use credit
cards/debit cards or are not comfortable with them or
just don't have them, consider bringing some U.S. cash
($100 US) and the rest in traveler's cheques from your
bank or from American Express.
Further,
if you think the exchange rate will significantly worsen
(the U.S. Dollar will go down against the local currency)
consider buying some local currency now. Most metropolitan
cities have one branch of a major bank (Say Bank of
America or Wells Fargo) that sells foreign currency.
Or, if you feel more comfortable having local cash on
you when you hit the ground, buy $50-$100 worth!
I
don't bother with this, ATM machines are everywhere,
and credit cards serve in good stead.
For
budget matters while in Europe, consider my comments
in Belgium Today
Edition #3. This has been updated and revised with
a touch more info for budget planning.
Finally,
the exchange rate appears to have stabilized, around
$1 US = 44 Belgian Francs. I'll let everyone know if
it starts to spike downward significantly.
ITINERARY
CONCEPTS
Try this!
Michael
Jackson's one-day whirlwind beer tour in Belgium.
This
clearly demonstrates the sheer volume MJ can handle
after decades of wonderful abuse!
Anyway,
here's the initial itinerary concept I've outlined for
myself and Erich, who will be traveling with me. Let's
keep discussing possible places to hit!
I'd
like to start by hitting Brussels for the day before
winding up in Antwerp. Then, we can do the festival
over the weekend, and try to hit some country breweries
and Abbeys on Monday/Tuesday. After that, perhaps we'll
back to Bruges for a day or two, and then spending a
few days in Amsterdam to finish up.
Remember,
of course, that travel is a maximum of 3 hours (Antwerp
to Amsterdam being about 2 hours) between all these
locations, Amsterdam-Brussels being about 3 hours. An
estimate (not at all finalized) would be...
•Nov
1...travel US - Belgium
•Nov 2...arrive, see Brussels in daytime, head
to Antwerp for dinner/sleepy time
•Nov 3...Wake up late, perhaps see Antwerp culture
(Rubens' is the home artist), go to Beer Festival and
eat good food
•Nov 4...Errr, same
•Nov 5...Belgian countryside breweries if we get
our act together, probably in the SE of Belgium
•Nov 6...Ditto, possibly winding up in Brugge
•Nov 7...Brugge/surrounding area
•Nov 8...Head to Amsterdam, do Amsterdam
•Nov 9...Amsterdam & surrounding areas (Aalsmeer
Flower Auction)
•Nov 10...Amsterdam & surrounding areas
•Nov 11...Early train to Brussels, or take a late-night
train to Brussels the night before, then travel Belgium
to US
We
could possibly substitute a trip into Paris on Sunday
evening through Tuesday. Or, depending on local guides,
we could shorten Brugge and hit more breweries and small
cities such as Mechelen between Antwerp and Brussels.
So, just initial thoughts, let's keep working on it!
AIRLINE
UPDATES
See website links to airlines and reservation sites.
We are all arriving Friday morning between 7am and 8.15am,
try to join us!
Please
double-check your tickets, and remember to show up about
3 hours or so early for your flights. I recently double-checked
mine, and United changed one of my flights. Due to flight
cancellations, I strongly recommend reconfirming
your itinerary.
Also,
some interesting news. When asking if my seat was an
aisle seat, the counter agent responded that it was
actually a "whole row" seat as the row was
empty except for me. I expect the flights to be very
lightly booked.
Beckman
and Jaser are on Sabena from New York (see
Edition #7 for details), arriving 8.15am. Urban
is likely to join them on this same flight.
Bill
is arriving 7:20am on United from Washington Dulles.
(see
Edition #3)
Dan
and Chad are coming in on Continental at about 8am.
HOTELLING
On
Monday morning I'll be booking for Antwerp (Fri/Sat/Sun
Nov 2/3/4) which is the weekend of the beer festival.
Currently
up for rooming: The BilFish, Erich Of The German First
Name, Dan Rowley, Chad Wright, Steve Urban, John Jaser.
George wants his own room because of an accident at
the sausage factory during his summer internship.
If
you are curious, I used the following hotel resources
in preparing booking information, to get phone numbers,
vicinity to beer hall details, and amenities. During
research, I was drinking a Samuel Smith's Organically
Produced Lager Beer (Yorkshire, England), 550Ml of beer
@ 5% alcohol by volume. Very nice, refreshing, as are
all of Sammy's brews.
Print
Books
•
Lonely Planet: Brussels, Bruges & Antwerp (1st Edition,
1999)
• Frommer's: Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg
(6th Edition, 1999)
• Rough Guide: Belgium & Luxembourg (2nd Edition,
1999)
Websites
•
Bookings.org
•
Utell International
•
Hotels Belgium
•
Hotel-Connect
•
Visit Belgium Tourist Board
Note:
It's often better to call the hotels directly, you'll
get better prices. These numbers are listed on some
websites (e.g. Utell) and in all hotels mentioned by
guidebooks. Most hotel listing sites and booking sites
or 800#s simply tack on huge service fees (up to 100%
or more). Certain locally-maintained sites often provide
the best pricing (in this case Bookings.org had the
best pricing online). Also look for weekend specials
in business cities.
I
haven't called yet, but online availability says that
we have some good options for the 3 nights in Antwerp
(Nov 2/3/4 Fri/Sat/Sun) (2 nights for George).
Eden
Hotel *** (800 Meters): single=2750 BF, double=3000
BF
Hotel Euro *** (500 Meters): single=3400 BF, double=4000
BF
Alfa Theater **** (350 M- ): single=4000 BF, double=4700
BF
Alfa de Keyser ****(800 M-): single=3750 BF, double=4500
BF
All
hotels I've looked for will have 3 things (specifically
for the Antwerp portion of this trip):
Distance: less than about 800 meters from festival
area (i.e. beer) and train station
Rooms: bathroom, minibar
Hotel: breakfast and taxes included, 24 hour
availability (or at least bigger hotels)
BTW
– 2 are three-star, 2 are four-star, in Europe
these are very similar designations, the 4-star will
be a touch classier and a bit more expensive, but not
necessarily bigger rooms, so no real differences.
Among
4 hotels fitting this criteria that I could readily
find, here are the distinguishing features...
3*
Eden Hotel: Cheapest, farthest away (800 M from
beer, 300 M from train, not as central)
3* Hotel Euro: Closer, cheaper (500 M from beer,
400 M from train)
4* Alfa Theater Hotel: Closest, moderate price,
jacuzzi/sauna! (350 M from beer, 600 M from train)
4* Alfa de Keyser Hotel: Across street from
train station for easy departure, same features as Theater
hotel (800 M from beer, 10 M from train station).
I
would recommend any of these, but my preference is a
bit more on the closer to the beer hall side. Remember
all prices include tax and breakfast and are per night.
So, I prefer:
3*
Hotel Euro ($115/triple, $92/double, $78/single) or
approx. $39/person/triple
OR
4* Alfa Theater Hotel ($108/double, $92/single) or approx.
$54/person
Keep
in mind that the Alfa hotels have jacuzzis and saunas.
Ahem. The Alfa Theater is probably the closest to the
general downtown action. There's a closer hotel (Less
than 200 Meters from the beer hall) but the price is
probably $75-$100/person per night.
Please
vote for your favorite, whoever has the most votes wins.
I'll do the secret tabulation, of course. Most importantly,
let me know if the Alfa Theater is too outrageous for
anyone (except George, because he demands a single room
for his bevy of fraulines).
If
we do the Hotel Euro, I suggest two triple rooms since
price is the main issue there, so let me know if you
don't want to do that. Think about it over the weekend,
I'll book on Monday morning for everyone. Please respond
or I'll slap yer bitch up nekked. Don't test me -- just
ask Jaser about last year! Ahem.
ATTENDEES,
LENGTH OF STAY (LOS) & SNORE QUOTIENT
In detail on the Who's
Going Page!
Tote
Board:
7 Men of Impeccable Honor – Confirmed for Belgium.
REMEMBER
Remember the tragedy in New York, Virginia
and Pennsylvania. Find a productive way to vent, and
perhaps become more involved in your own community.
Regards,
BilFish
Editor, Belgium Today!
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